The eye of the storm

The term supercell is used by meteorologists to describe a type of long-lasting thunderstorm that rotates and is usually accompanied by dangerous weather conditions, including hail, damaging winds and sometimes tornadoes. It contains a deep and persistent rotating updraft called a mesocyclone.

He was invited in September to give a lecture on his storm-chasing experiences at Peking University's School of Physics. He appeared on popular Chinese talk show Day Day Up by Hunan Satellite TV in February. Invited as a guest cameraman, he worked on China Central Television's documentary The Power of Nature, which premiered in January.

On social media platforms, such as Bilibili, Douyin and Sina Weibo, known as Range Sifang (Four Directions), he doesn't only want to show how awesome these natural phenomena are to witness, but also tries to explain the danger and how to minimize damage.

Many social media users nicknamed him "storm chaser". A Sina Weibo user named Guanwaidelin comments that Liu's photos and videos show how amazing and powerful nature is and how insignificant humans are. Another, called Lucia Wei, says that before Liu, storm-chasing photographers were rarely heard of in China and that it is a career for those who are not only brave, but also armed with sufficient meteorological knowledge.

Gone with the wind

Born and raised in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, Liu became fascinated with thunderstorms as a child. His favorite picture book in kindergarten was one that illustrated the manifestation of different scales of wind. While his classmates in primary school watched animated shows, his favorite TV program was the daily weather forecast.